The present invention relates to the preparation of cocoa products, more particularly to a process for the preparation of a cocoa beverage powder mix intended to be dispersed in milk to prepare a cocoa or chocolate beverage.
Cocoa beverage powder mixes from which chocolate drinks may be made by dispersing the powder mix in milk usually contain from 2 to 25% cocoa, 0.5 to 2% emulsifier, up to 1% flavour all or most of the remainder being made up of sugar or a filler, such as malto-dextrin, or a mixture of sugar and a filler. A sugar-free cocoa beverage powder mix from which a chocolate drink may be made typically contains cocoa and whey together with small amounts of an emulsifier, such as lecithin, and of an artificial sweetener and flavour. Generally, the ingredients of the cocoa beverage powder mix are batch mixed and then agglomerated to enhance the appearance and performance such as miscibility and flowability. However, when such cocoa beverage powder mixes are dispersed in milk to prepare the beverage, the physical properties are sometimes less then desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,388 describes chocolate flavoured dry powdered food products of the type intended to be dispersed in water and a process for their manufacture characterised by high wettability and dispersibility in water comprising continuously moistening a mixture of a chocolate flavoured powder and anhydrous milk powder while the material is in dispersed condition, causing the moistened particles of the material, while dispersed in a treatment zone, to contact and permanently adhere together in the form of light moist random aggregates of random shape and of a size substantially greater than the size of the original particles, the aggregates leaving said zone in dispersed condition and having a total moisture content of from 8 to 20%, and then removing excess moisture from the aggregates without any substantial amount of crushing of the same, the final product being a free-flowing granular material. The excess moisture is removed from the aggregates by permitting them to rest without handling for from 1 to 2 minutes, for example on a moving belt until the structures become firm. After the period of rest, the material is less sticky, is relatively free flowing, and the aggregates have sufficient strength for handling and drying without serious breakup or crushing.
In this specification the formation of aggregates will be referred to hereinafter as "agglomeration".
While the process described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,388 is effective for chocolate flavoured powdered products of the type intended to be dispersed in water to prepare the beverage, it is not suitable for obtaining desirable physical properties in sugar-free cocoa beverage powder mixes which do not contain malto-dextrin intended to be dispersed in milk to prepare the beverage.